


beside the green green grass

by NoirSongbird



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Flower Crowns, Fluff, Krolia is a Disaster Bisexual, Mentioned Sheith, Pining, Post-Season/Series 06, anyway the point here is fluff and flower crowns!!, just...things with the colony went differently, really slightly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 12:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15605958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirSongbird/pseuds/NoirSongbird
Summary: Upon landing on a new planet during their long journey back to Earth, Romelle invites Krolia to go for a walk in the planet's extensive gardens.





	beside the green green grass

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roromir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roromir/gifts).



> This was written for the VLD Creators Discord server flash exchange, and it was an absolute delight to write!! I love Kromelle, they're such a cute ship, and I do occasionally enjoy stretching my fluff muscles. I swear.
> 
> Title from "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer!

"Krolia!" Romelle called, and Krolia immediately turned to face her. As was her usual, at least as far as Krolia had observed, she seemed full of energy—and there were a million possible reasons why, but the easiest one to guess was the planet they had taken refuge on. The journey to Earth was long and arduous, and with Shiro and Lotor both still out of commission after the battle with the rift monster that had menaced the colony, frequent stops for rest were a necessity.

Sometimes the planets they chose were...less than pleasant, but that was definitely not the case this time. The inhabitants here had eagerly welcomed Voltron, were all too happy to provide space for the Black Paladin to rest, and moreover, the planet itself was absolutely _ gorgeous _ . Krolia found herself staring off the balcony of the room they had assigned her, just taking in the view; the lodgings they had been invited to stay in were part of a massive palace complex, and Krolia's room specifically overlooked one of the many sprawling gardens, this one a maze of plants roughly equivalent to Earth hedges—though unlike those, these were filled with brilliant, multicolored blossoms—that surrounded carefully cultivated fields of wildflowers. It was an absolutely breathtaking view, but the one she turned to see was far better.

Romelle was bouncing from her heels to her toes, and grinning like she had just learned some absolutely delightful secret.

"Yes?" Krolia said, and she met Romelle's smile with one of her own, trying to ignore the way her heart skipped at the sight before her. It had been a long time since she felt that way; not since she had left Heath behind on Earth with their son, and returned to her place in the Empire so she could continue her work with the Blade, keeping Voltron out of Zarkon’s hands.

"I checked with Allura to make sure, and she says the gardens don't have anything toxic to Alteans, so I was wondering....did you want to walk with me?" she asked. "Our hosts said they wouldn't mind if we did, and apparently people are encouraged to pick the flowers, so..." She gave a look that was definitely pleading, which was wholly unnecessary. Krolia supposed that was for the best, because it meant Romelle probably had no idea that all she had to do was smile and bat her eyelashes and Krolia would happily do whatever she wanted. The longer that stayed true, the better, because Krolia was more than a little embarrassed by how head over heels she was. She was far too old for this kind of thing, for crushes that made her heart skip and her cheeks flush with nothing but a smile and a laugh.

"I would love to," she said. "Will anyone else be joining us?" She wasn't sure if she wanted the answer to be  _ yes _ or  _ no _ , because a walk through the gardens alone with Romelle sounded  _ absurdly _ romantic, but maybe having a third person there would keep her from running away with too many stupid ideas about what this might mean.

"Nope," Romelle said. "I asked Keith, but he doesn't want to leave Shiro alone," she gave a half-rueful smile paired with a shrug, and Krolia laughed a little.

"Well, that's hardly a surprise," she said lightly. Even without all the rose-colored flashbacks to their days at the Garrison, Krolia was fairly certain she would know how enamored her son was of Takashi Shirogane by nothing more than the way he said Shiro's name, and it only made sense that with his beloved in such a terrible way, Keith would rather be with him than with anyone else. "What about the others?" Romelle looked a little guilty.

"Well," she said, "I didn't really...I don't know the rest of them very well? Not like I know you and Keith, and. I'd rather it be just you and me than you and me and a stranger?"

Oh. That was....that was certainly something, and Krolia was sure she was supposed to have something like an intelligent response, but all she could do was nod.

"Um, I see," she said, and she could have smacked herself. Ridiculous. It made perfect sense that Romelle was uncomfortable with strangers, all things considered. That was all it had to mean. There was nothing to read into, and Krolia needed to stop trying to do just that.

“Maybe if Lotor was feeling better? I’d like to get to know him as….” she wrinkled her nose, and it was perhaps the most adorable thing Krolia had seen in a long time, “himself? And not the god-savior of New Altea? But, you know.” Krolia nodded. “So! Just you and me, and that’s fine with me. If it’s fine with you?” She looked nervous, suddenly.

“That’s perfectly fine with me,” Krolia said, rushing to assure her.  _ Ancestors,  _ she was a disaster. She was never going to be able to tease Keith about him and Shiro again without feeling like a hypocrite of the highest order. 

“Good!” Romelle chirped, and she extended a hand. Krolia took it, and let Romelle lead her down the hall and through the door that led to the gardens.

She knew they talked as they walked through the maze of flowering bushes, but if Kolivan had demanded a report on the conversation, Krolia couldn’t have given it. She was far too distracted by  _ Romelle,  _ alight with joy and life, haloed by sunlight and stopping every few steps to run her fingers over some new, brightly-colored flower. This, Krolia couldn't help but think, was what Romelle should  _ always _ look like. Smiling and delighted with everything around her. Krolia had gotten to see more of a soft side of the fierce firebrand she'd first met on the Altean colony the longer they spent in space, and it felt like a small blessing every time she did. It was good to see Romelle opening up and learning to love the universe outside the tiny little colony she'd grown up on.

They made it to one of the open areas in the maze, a circular field of flowers, and Romelle brought her hands up to her face and gasped, eyes wide.

"What is it?" Krolia asked, and she reached out to gently put a hand on her shoulder. To her surprise, Romelle seemed to be tearing up, and she wasn't sure what could have caused it, but for a moment she was overcome by the very, very irrational instinct to find whatever it was and  _ fight it _ for daring to upset Romelle, which was...unhelpfully idiotic.

"It's just...." Romelle began, and she slowly sank to her knees, and Krolia went with her, "I don't...think I've ever seen this much color in one place before." Her voice was soft, and she slowly reached out to pluck one of the flowers, bringing it up to her face. Even as tears rolled down her cheeks, she was smiling. "On the colony, we didn't have much space for growing things, and what we had, we had to use for food. So...not a lot of flowers. We had a few, but nothing...nothing like this."

Krolia opened her arms, a silent offer, and Romelle leaned over, falling into them and staring out at the flowers before them. Krolia had to force herself to breathe slowly and calmly, and she hoped Romelle couldn't hear or feel the absurdly quick beat of her heart, doing triple-time like the wings of the little hummingbirds Heath had shown her back on Earth.

"To think," Romelle said, "there are planets with enough space that they can just....dedicate whole swathes of land to nothing but pretty things like this."

"Most planets are like that," Krolia said softly. "When I was on Earth, I wasn't even in a place that was very green at all—the opposite, really. It only rained a few months out of the year, and not much at all even then. But there were still plants, and flowers, and the flowers were...the most beautiful colors. More than I'd ever even imagined growing up on spaceships."

"That's right," Romelle said, "you haven't seen much green either." She sniffed, faintly, and then sat up, leaning out of Krolia's arms. Krolia was more than a little loathe to let her go, but she did anyway, and Romelle reached up, tucking the flower she'd plucked behind Krolia's ear. "I bet you've never...." She trailed off, tilting her head to the side.

"Never...?" Krolia prompted her to finish, praying that the heat she felt on her cheeks wasn't as noticeable as she swore it had to be.

"Wait here," Romelle said, instead of finishing, and she stood up, and began to wander around the circle of flowers they were in, evaluating what was growing and carefully selecting ones to pick. They were all in shades of pink and red and purple, and as instructed, Krolia sat still and waited, even when Romelle sat down on the other edge, facing away from her, and began to fiddle with the flowers she had collected. Romelle could have told her to wait there forever, and Krolia was fairly certain she'd do it, if it made Romelle happy. Which was absolutely ridiculous, and she realized that, but...anything was worth it to see Romelle's bright, sunshine smile, to see the way she lit up in pure delight when things went just right.

Finally, Romelle stood up and turned around, jogging back over to Krolia and presenting her creation.

"Ta-da!" She declared, brightly.

It was a circle of woven blossoms, and Krolia blinked, slowly.

"Is that...what is it?" She asked, voice soft and trembling faintly.

"A flower crown!" Romelle said. "Bandor and I used to love to make them with some of the other children, and I thought....you probably haven't seen many flowers, so probably no one has ever made one for you, which is a shame." She knelt in front of Krolia and reached out, delicately setting the crown on Krolia’s head, and as she did, she leaned in so their faces were mere inches apart. Krolia felt her heart pick up again, and this time, she was certain her flush was more than visible.

“T-thank you,” she stammered, eyes slightly wide. Romelle tilted her head to the side and seemed to consider for a moment, and then she moved her hands from resting on the crown to cupping the sides of Krolia’s face, and right as Krolia realized what was probably about to happen, Romelle closed her eyes, leaned in, and kissed her.

It was soft, and slow, and gentle, and Krolia was far too shocked to even think of kissing back. She sat, frozen and wide-eyed, until Romelle pulled back, flushed and looking guilty.

“I’m sorry, did I…? I thought…Oh, I’m  _ such  _ an  _ idiot, _ ” Romelle said, and she flushed bright red and sat back, looking away and down at where she’d dropped her hands into her lap. “I must have misread, I’m  _ so sorry,  _ Krolia, can we please forget this ever happened?”

“No, no, wait,” Krolia said, and she reached out to gently rest a hand on Romelle’s arm. Her heart was still racing, and she knew she had to look like an absolute idiot. “I was just...you surprised me,” she said, softly, and Romelle turned to look back at her, eyes slightly wide. “But I liked that, quite a bit, and I would prefer not to just forget about it. In fact…” She leaned forward, and she watched color paint Romelle’s cheeks darker, “I’d actually like to do it again. If you would.”

Romelle didn’t hesitate, throwing herself forward and throwing her arms around Krolia’s shoulders, which knocked Krolia off balance and onto her back in the flowers. Romelle giggled, delightedly, and kissed her, and this time Krolia leaned into it, sliding her arms around Romelle’s waist and holding her close. This kiss, too, was soft and sweet and gentle, and this time Krolia didn’t hesitate in kissing back, leaning into it with enthusiasm. When Romelle pulled back, her eyes were sparkling with joy. 

“Can we go back to your room?” She asked, cheerily. “I’d like you to see what that flower crown looks like on you, before we totally destroy it.” Krolia laughed, and leaned in to steal another, brief kiss. 

“Alright,” she said, “let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on tumblr at [noirsongbird!](http://noirsongbird.tumblr.com/)


End file.
